Reviews by elNopalero:

This pours an amber-cola color with thin foaming. It has a matly aroma with cloves and cinnamon prominent. The beer itself is spicy—not peppery spice, but holiday/pumpkin pie spice—with a heavy-handed shake of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice… mixed with some raisin and a touch of roastiness and a bitter finish. Strong, but it plays well and warms wonderfully.

The first bar I had this at had it listed in the 5% range. I was pretty sure it was a weee bit stronger… but at almost 9% I had no idea!

The flavor starts out slightly piney, but quickly develops into banana nut bread, gingerbread with red hots, prune, cinnamon, nutmeg, followed by slight baked brown sugar and molasses. It's just so incredibly festive I can't help but rate it so high.

Buzzing carbonation, alcohol heat, and a dry rubbed finish.

Overall, as a Christmas/Holiday ale, 4 Elf NAILS it. I mean just NAILS it. Nothing better captures the aromas, flavors, and warmth of the holidays. Best holiday beer, and beyond impressed.

Pours a dark brown color with a huge foamy off white head. Good retention. Leaves a lumpy, uneven head with spotty lacing.

Aroma is heavy on spices, ginger, molasses, graham cracker, cinnamon, and a hint of caramel. Very pleasant.

Tastes like a porter. Lightly roasted chocolate and nuts. Brown sugar. A small amount of hops. Gingerbread is still there, though not as strong. Very faint cinnamon. A little too heavy on the spice, though. There's really not much going on in the taste, unfortunately. It just kind of lacks character, if that makes sense. A little more hop bitterness than expected here.

Medium bodied. LIttle carbonation. More of a sipper at 8.75%.

Overall, started out with good potential, even after the first sip, but really faltered from there. Still a solid brew, but not DH's best, so don't go out of your way for this one.

Pours into a becker a deep roasted walnut brown with a creamy half finger tan colored head atop,great color and love the creamy head.Winter mulling spice and sweet alcohol in the nose,alot of nutmeg is detected.Lower carbonation with a creamy feel,it slides down easy.Spicy to the hilt on the palate with some cake-like notes,like a CHRISTmas spiced cake,the alcohol sweetness gets bigger as it warms.This a winter sipper,like others have noted, you can't drink to much of it,a full on spicy winter warmer here.

First sip brings smooth semi-sweet roasted malts wrapped in a warm blanket of spices. Clove, nutmeg, ginger and some cinnamon. Tastes like a spiced dark rye bread. Flows down with a bit of sweetness and lots of lingering spice. I can see how some may find it overly spiced but to me it was very enjoyable.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, creamy and smooth. The malt body here is well placed and the alcohol is never too much in the flavor. This ends up being quite warming in the end and the mix of spices really work. I personally enjoy the forward clove aspect. A stellar spiced brew from Dark Horse. Paired well with some Carr Valley Menage cheese and fun to drink in the summer. Thanks hoppymeal!

On tap.
Arrives a deep, dark brown, nearly black with virtually no head. No lacing to speak of.
Aroma is roasty: coffee and chocolate with a bit of nutmeg, tree nuts and cinnamon.
Tasty beer. Lots of chocolate goodness as well as those yummy holiday spices in just the right amount as well as a bit of fig and a bit of booze.
Mouthfeel is rather thin.
Nice holiday beer.

I've had several 4-packs of this beer now. 12oz bottles, all from 2015. Pours somewhat opaque brown with a medium sized tan head; some lacing. Yeast on the bottom of the bottle carries over into the glass. Smells mostly of sweet malt and ginger with some nutmeg, clove, allspice, and toasted caramel. The taste follows very closely and has kind of a gingerbread vibe; ginger, clove, malt, and caramel. The alcohol is fairly present but less noticeable when it warms up. Above average body and average carbonation. Overall, it fits the style well as a spiced, malty, and boozy beer.

Taste: Some spice upfront, but a very sweet core of fruit (plum, cherry, berry), chocolate and even light coffee. The spices are evident and lingering on the finish, with nutmeg, clove and allspice. There may be some English-style hops as well, but it could be mainly the spices.

Feel: Medium to full body with moderately low carbonation. Finish is more sharp than truly dry.

Overall: Some Porter/Stout notes with this Spiced Winter Warmer. It actually reminds me of a ramped up Anchor Christmas Ale, which is mostly a good thing, but this beer is not quite as harmonious. Still, this is a good choice for the Holidays.

Appearance: Pours a dark blackish brown with a moderate amount of rising bubbles. About one finger of tan head that quickly fades into a thin patch. Leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass. Some sediment settles around the bottom.